Kathmandu: The International Education Providers Association of Nepal (IEPAN) has stated that public debates about the educational programs of 58 institutions in Nepal affiliated with 35 foreign universities should be based on facts, laws, and evidence.
At a press conference in the capital on Tuesday, IEPAN said that when questioning the legality or quality of education of these institutions, conclusions should only be drawn based on legal provisions, approval of the institutions and programs, accreditation of the universities, degree credibility, international recognition, academic reputation, and the job opportunities and acceptance given to graduates in the employment market.
At the press conference, IEPAN President Laxman KC said that the claim that programs run with the approval of the Ministry of Education can be shut down at any time without legal grounds is wrong and misleading. He mentioned that 58 institutions in Nepal have been allowed to run educational programs with 35 foreign universities from seven countries, and a total of 37,208 students are studying in these institutions. KC claimed that about 5,000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs have been created, with an investment of around 2.5 billion rupees. He informed that under Section 19 of the Education Act, 2028, the ‘Foreign Educational Program (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2083’ have been issued to arrange the operation and regulation of such programs.
The Inland Revenue Department has stated that these programs contribute around 50 million rupees in direct and over 100 million rupees in indirect annual revenue, and generate economic activities worth 1.5 to 2 billion rupees. KC noted that students can stay with their families while studying for an international degree in Nepal, saving on living and daily expenses abroad. According to the Inland Revenue Department’s claim, the cost of studying in Nepal for some programs can be up to 15 times cheaper than studying abroad.
He estimates that this will help reduce the potential outflow of foreign currency by about 5 to 6 billion rupees annually. However, IIPAN has clarified that we cannot conclude from this that all students going abroad would have enrolled in programs in Nepal. ‘Recently, our main role has been in producing IT manpower,’ KC says, ‘In Nepal, the trendsetters in IT education are colleges operating in Nepal under the affiliation of foreign universities.’ According to the IIDS study, in 2022, IT service exports from Nepal amounted to about 515 million US dollars (around 6.8 billion rupees), and this sector is estimated to reach about 1 billion US dollars (around 14.5 billion rupees) by 2025. According to him, this growth has been made possible by recently graduated Nepali IT students, IT companies, freelancers, and initiatives from the private sector.
According to him, now that the study of such subjects has started in Nepal, skilled manpower is being produced according to global market needs, and the situation where students have to spend a lot to go abroad is gradually decreasing. Highlighting the attraction towards foreign studies, KC mentioned that in fiscal year 2080–81, 112,593 people, and in 2081–82, 123,589 people obtained study permits.
According to the data presented by Ipan, in those years, respectively, 12.495 billion and 13.848 billion rupees were spent abroad for education purposes. KC emphasized the need to provide quality, competitive, and internationally-standard higher education at home to prevent youth from migrating abroad and also create strong employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.
The Nepal Education Institution Survey 2081 by the National Statistics Office also shows the significant contribution of non-governmental educational institutions. According to the survey covering fiscal year 2080–81, there were 66,805 students enrolled in higher education at those institutions.
The survey mentions that the total value of such educational institutions is around 1.6 trillion rupees, and they employ 311,516 people. These figures are for all education institutions except those fully government-owned, and do not account for the separate contributions of the 58 institutions affiliated with foreign universities.
Regarding quality, KC said that affiliated colleges and branches of foreign universities follow different models in terms of ownership and management. He added that no model should be automatically considered superior or weaker, and urged that each program be assessed based on curriculum, teacher qualifications, infrastructure, evaluation, and student learning outcomes. He also mentioned that the universities providing affiliation determine the curriculum and educational standards, and also oversee the partner colleges.
KC noted that the Ministry of Education has been conducting on-site monitoring of institutions with expert teams. According to him, the new regulations require affiliated institutions to start the quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) process within three years.
He said that the fees for foreign universities should be paid through the banking system based on the ministry’s approval and recommendation, and the details of it should be submitted to the ministry. Ipan has urged that if any institution is found to be irregular, it should be investigated by the regulatory body.
KC mentioned that short courses in artificial intelligence or cyber security should not be compared with a full academic degree. He said that opinions should only be formed after checking the duration of the program, credits, curriculum, and assessment methods.
He also shared that students can be evaluated not just through written exams, but also through assignments, research projects, and presentations.KC also shared the goal of developing Nepal as a study destination for foreign students in the future. For that, he urged the government to clearly establish arrangements for evaluating qualified institutions, student visas, and services required for foreign students.
He also requested that an updated list of authorized institutions and programs be made public, that quality check standards be clarified, and that the process for addressing student complaints be made effective.
